Hotels both in and outside of London are on track to benefit from London 2012 with occupancy and room rates predicted to continue to rise during the summer months following strong growth in March.
Restaurants and pubs have benefited from the unseasonably warm weather of March, with collective like-for-like sales up 1.9 per cent and total sales up 6.3 per cent on the same month last year.
A number of high-end restaurateurs and industry experts have condemned the use of online reservation systems, claiming booking websites are contributing to the growing number of people booking tables and not showing up.
Benny Peverelli, former head chef at healthy fast-food chain Leon, has said London restaurants should not 'rest on their laurels' and must consider value for money as a survey suggests diners think some restaurants might be overpriced.
Food service and hotel operators are being urged to take part in the Gram Green Paper report for 2012 to look at the industry’s attitudes to the environment and sustainability.
Punch Taverns has said it remains 'on track' to meet its expectations for the year despite a drop in first half pre-tax profits from £41m last year to £33m in the 28 weeks to 3 March 2012.
Hospitality businesses have renewed calls for extra support on energy bills and dealing with utility suppliers after the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced it was backing Ofgem proposals to help domestic customers.
As the number of people booking tables and then not showing up increases we ask how big a problem is it for the restaurant sector and what can the industry do to guard against it?
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has launched a public consultation on options to change local planning laws to stop the closure of pubs including asking residents to make a list of pubs they want saved and protected.
Almost half of restaurant, hotel and pub operators feel positive about the year ahead with just 8 per cent believing the economy will slip back into another recession this year.
Hoteliers across the country will welcome the news that domestic trips and holidays have increased for the third consecutive year to record levels, with total spend also on the up.
Restaurant presentation, whether that be interiors or tableware, can have a huge impact on the diner experience, but how key is it to a business's success?
Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) ratings, awarded to recognise restaurants' efforts on sustainability, will now be highlighted in the Harden's guide in print and online.
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has launched its first ever Community Pubs Month by releasing new statistics on the impact of the pub on the community and revealing the full list of Local Pubs of the Year winners now competing for the national title.
Reis Remzi, the 21-year-old son of Olgun Remzi, the owner of noodle restaurant chain Miso, has launched his own company and opened the first site under a new restaurant concept - Branded: Steak & Burger.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the Association of Multiple Licensed Retailers (ALMR) have welcomed the Government's official response to the Mary Portas Review to revive the high street which includes support for pubs and funding...
The UK pub industry is facing a potential rise in beer prices as the drought across the south of England is likely to cause a shortage of barley and hops.
Inka has introduced a new range of barbecue ovens in time for the summer to add theatre and more efficient, ecologically sound and virtually smoke-free grilling to an al-fresco menu.
Alcohol sales are of course an essential revenue generator for most hospitality businesses. But soft drinks, smoothies, freshly squeezed juices and non-alcoholic cocktails could in fact generate even higher margins for more diligent businesses, especially...
Just over a week since the 2012 Budget, hospitality operators are weighing up the effects of the policies contained in the Chancellor's speech on their businesses - but what wasn't said or what was notably missing for hotels, restaurants and...
More than three quarters of hospitality business owners believe they need to grow their companies first before they can look to hire new staff, a survey has shown.
Leading Asian and Oriental restaurateurs have welcomed the launch of a Hospitality Guild and People 1st initiative of five new training centres to develop cuisine-specific techniques but warned it may not solve short-term skills shortages caused by the...
Whitbread and J D Wetherspoon have been named among the best British employers in the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF) Institute's latest rundown of the leading companies in the country in terms of taking care of employees and providing excellent...
Hotels in the regions enjoyed a bigger rise in revenue per available room (RevPAR) than those in London for the first month in two and a half years in February, according to the latest market data from hotel consultancy firm PKF.
The Government has confirmed in the publication of its Alcohol Strategy that it is to introduce a minimum price for alcohol with the level of 40p a unit being examined in a move the Prime Minister David Cameron said would 'not hurt pubs'.
As we have seen in previous parts of this feature, food and drink can be a marriage made in heaven for restaurants and pubs. But cocktails, apéritifs and spirits are not products that tend to be associated with food and they are rarely even advertised...
The average salary of a food and beverage (F&B) director at a London hotel has risen 25 per cent to £58,350 in the last year as the capital's hotels strive to become more competitive in their restaurant offerings.
Traditional pub food may not be the lifeline for publicans looking to tackle falling drink sales and pubs need to emulate the high street restaurant market in order to survive.
While one or two measures announced in today’s budget have been welcomed by the UK hotel industry, Chancellor George Osborne has left many businesses in the dark and avoided a number of major issues hampering the sector.
The Chancellor George Osborne's decision to refuse to budge on the controversial beer duty escalator in the Budget has been widely criticised by the pub and bar sector as a missed opportunity to reverse a policy that continues to lead to job losses...
With up to 30,000 people departing from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3 every day, established food concepts and emerging brands are increasingly recognising the potential of such high-footfall transport hubs.
Whole-animal butchery, nose-to-tail cookery and more thoughtful meat use are all crucial in ensuring sustainability in food production and to help the environment, according to Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming.
The Government has announced the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will rise for adults and apprentices but will be frozen for 16-20 year-olds in a move that the hospitality careers charity Springboard described as disappointing.
Hospitality licensees considering applying for future Temporary Event Notices (TENs) for events including those during the London 2012 Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations have been advised to apply now before the system becomes more restrictive...
Voucher website Groupon has been forced to change some of its trading practices and how it interacts with merchants and businesses after an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading found 'widespread' examples of breached consumer regulations.
Hotel prices in the capital rose again this month with an average overnight stay in a London hotel costing £144 in March, up 5 per cent from a year ago, while hotels in Glasgow, Manchester and Brighton also defied the trend of falling prices in the provinces.
Spirit Pub Company has announced trading remains on track to meet the company expectations for the financial year with like-for-like sales across its managed estate up 4.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to 3 March 2012 with food sales becoming more important...
Women in hospitality are now more present at senior level but remain under-represented in the boardroom and more needs to be done to rectify this and encourage senior female managers to reach for directorships, according to global executive search company...
Of all the drinks categories, wine is the most traditional match to food. Wine lists are given out readily with food menus in the vast majority of restaurants and most diners will expect to see one at least integrated into the food menu if not given to...
Pub licensees should not be content to see their pubs turning a profit in six months but aim to make money sooner, according to Alastair Scott, pub consultant and founder of Malvern Inns and former operations director at Mitchells & Butlers (M&B).
Marston's, the pub operator and brewer, has reported a like-for-like sales increase in the 23 weeks to 10 March of 3.5 per cent and has declared its trading performance remains 'resilient' despite weaker conditions since the new year which...
Minimum alcohol pricing which stops retailers selling drinks for less than the tax paid comes into force this year but reports now suggest the Government is looking to go further and may support a minimum per unit price; but what would the impact be on...
Going out for meals and drinks has been revealed by VisitEngland to be the second most popular reason for day trips in the UK with 250 million trips in 2011 helping to boost the worth of the day visit economy to £54bn.
Hotel bookings in Glasgow have increased by 200 per cent in the past four years, second only to London in the most popular list of shopping destination cities.
Hotel room rates in the UK fell by an average of 1 per cent to £82 in 2011 as hoteliers strove to fill rooms by discounting and refused to pass on the 2.5 per cent VAT increase to guests.
A UK benchmark into energy use in hotels is overdue as the results of the last similar study nearly two decades ago are now out of date, according to the managing director of hospitality energy consultants Hotel Energy.
JD Wetherspoon has revealed a rise in like-for-like sales of 2.1 per cent in the 26 weeks to 22 January 2012 but announced it is scaling back its planned pub openings for the financial year and remains cautious about future performance.
